Scripture, he would submit to them, and that he is very sincerely examining the Scriptures on the subject. And, therefore, you say he is to be received into the fellowship of Christ's ordinances, or some of them; though you admit that the brother, who has been walking with me in the full fellowship of the Gospel, is to be removed, if disobedience to any of Christ's precepts appear in him, and is persisted in after admonition. If this be not setting up man's sincerity against the truth and authority of God, I know not what is. Yet I well know what use is made of that argument.

I have only to add the melancholy acknowledgment, that if your mind should ultimately fix on that side, to which it appears too much inclined, I am too conscious of my great shortcoming in the duty of a Christian parent-(peculiarly difficult as my circumstances have been)—not to feel the trial deeply embittered by that sad and humbling consideration. I still, however, look to Him with whom is Mercy.

XXI.

TO THE SAME.

April, 1813.

MY DEAR CHILD,—A few words more and I have done,—very few are now needed: and I prefer this mode of communicating them, on account of the state of animal agitation which is produced by conversation. After shifting your ground in each of our interviews, you have terminated in a principle undisguisedly profane. You say that we cannot be charged with disobeying a divine command which we do not see. It may be plainly in the scripture: it may be laid before us from the scripture:-but if we do not see it, if we be not conscious of our disobedience,-we cannot be said to disobey.

On this I observe-That it at once sets aside the word of God, as the one regulating standard and authoritative rule for his people's conduct; and substitutes in its place, their varying opinions of what is right or wrong; thus "establishing iniquity by a law:"-that the language of the Apostles is, "He that is of God, heareth us,” and "If any man be spiritual let him acknowledge that the things which we write unto you, are the commandments of the Lord:" but the language of this principle is, that a man may be evidenced to be of God and spiritual, though he remain deaf to the apostolic word, and does not acknowledge as the commandments of the Lord the things written in it.—I repeat it, also-that the very same principle equally goes to sanction all the false Gospels which those embrace, who are left to "strong delusion, that they should believe a lie," and goes to say that the stronger their delusion, the more harmless it is, and the more justifiable. If we cannot be said to disobey

the divine commands unless we see their authority, neither can men be said to reject the divine testimony, unless they see its truth.—I am taught, however, that it is the distinguishing character of the people of God, that they are given to discern that which is hidden from the world, and that the word (which carries no weight to the children of disobedience) sways their conscience. Certainly, none can obey it really, but those who discern it.

The intimations you throw out of the supposed ambiguity and obscurity of the scriptures on these matters, are but of a piece with the ungodliness of the principles you now avow. However, they have been given as the one revelation of the Divine mind and will, for enlightening and regulating the church of God: and take heed how you set up any other rule of faith or practice, or how you impeach their sufficiency for the end for which they were designed by God. This is at the bottom of the illustration you employed→ "could you be said to disobey me in a matter in which you merely had not understood what I desired?" This is, in short, saying that it is the same cause which prevents men's receiving the revelation of the divine will, and which makes them occasionally mistake each other's meaning in natural things-namely, the indistinctness and obscurity of the directions. But the scriptures account for the world's not receiving the word, and being unable to see it, from a very different cause indeed.

As long as you maintain the principles which you avowed this evening, I release you, my dear child, from all further agitation of the subject. Should a change take place in your views, you will of course communicate it to me. But till then, I am obliged (though with a bleeding heart) solemnly to renounce all fellowship with you in your religion, and to view you-however amiable and dear to me in the flesh-as one rejecting the word of the Lord, and savouring not the things that be of God-but the things that be of men. Your afflicted but affectionate Father,

XXII.

FROM THE CHURCH IN D-TO

M

3rd June, 1813.

DEAR SISTER M.-Though many circumstances might naturally seem to repress our hope of recovering you to the principles of Scripture from which you have turned aside, yet in that word of the Lord which commands us to attempt the restoration of those who are found in any transgression, previous to renouncing fellowship with them, we have enough both to direct our conduct in your instance, and to support our hope also, that it may please God to bless the

means which he commands us to employ. And however your mind may have been made up upon the subject, or whatever reluctance you may feel to be recalled to views which at present you regard with aversion, we would beseech you-as one whom we still hope to have restored to us as a sister beloved-not to withhold your attention, nor to turn away from what we are about to offer.

All departure from the holy commandments delivered from the Apostles must originate in a declension from their testimony concerning Jesus Christ: we are persuaded, therefore, that it is not superfluous to remind you, that the revelation of the glory of the only true God in the gospel, is as much opposed to all that is reckoned good and excellent among men in religion, as it is unspeakably joyful to the most vile and ungodly who discern it. While kept in the discernment of it, we shall see but one thing that is glorious, and shall therefore be delivered from the sentiments of false admiration in which we naturally hold the persons of men-either our own or others. We shall be kept, also, in that holy reverence of the name of the Lord, which will regard the revelation He has made as stamped with universal sacredness and divine authority, and will fly from the appearance of profaning that sacredness, or trifling with that authority. The fundamental principles in your present course are opposite to these essential features of the gospel of God our Saviour. Instead of trying all persons and characters by the word of the Lord, you subject his words to the characters of men. You set it down as a fixed principle, that such and such individuals must be considered as accepted of God, and conclude that the Scriptures cannot call you to renounce fellowship with them: and, in all the natural pride of false humility, you make a virtue of your disobedience, as not setting yourself above those, who (you have found) are so much better disciples than yourself. In this estimation of their characters, the great criterion which Christ himself points out (of hearing his voice and keeping his commandments) you wholly set aside. We are aware that you speak of fair fruits in them, as evidencing their discipleship. But the basis of your present union with them is the ungodly maxim, that ye may receive each other in the charity of the Gospel, though each live in open disobedience to what the other professes to acknowledge as a command of the Lord Jesus. And thus there is not a command peculiarly HIS, the authority of which you do not deny. We say, peculiarly his,-for, when you profess not to hold in your fellowship drunkards, and thieves, and murderers, &c., we would remind you, that Heathens themselves acknowledge these evils to be inconsistent with excellence of moral character. And if you would indeed put away (as we doubt not) such wicked persons from among you, have we not reason to believe that it would be rather in the spirit of the religious world, and to keep your own characters fair in the sight of men, than in real obedience to the word of Christ? For if you acknowledge yourselves bound, in that instance, by the authority of his word, with what consistency can you consider the authority of the same word not equally binding in every other instance when it reveals his will? or, though you say that the drunkard, &c. ought to be put away from

among disciples, would you hold yourself at liberty to continue in a connexion where such characters were retained? If you would, on what ground of consistency can you separate from the Establishment, or any of the most openly antichristian connexions upon earth? If you would not, and own that you could not, without being a partaker of their sin, you own that one part of the scriptural regulation of Christ's house is so binding, that united obedience to it is essential to Christian fellowship :-and then, with what consistency can you deny the same character to belong to every other part?

Thus, in conceiving that nothing affects the Christian character of professors but breaches of that moral law, the work of which is written in every man's conscience, you set aside all that peculiarly rests upon the authority of Christ :-and when you justify their disobedience to the revealed will of Christ, on the ground of their conscientious ignorance, you reject the mark which he assigns as distinguishing his sheep-that of hearing his voice and following him: and set up the varying rule of men's opinions in opposition to his immutable word. We are aware that you put forward the doctrine of Christ, in contradistinction to his precepts, as the one thing in which it is essential that the members of a Christian society should be agreed. How far some of those with whom you have joined yourself, even professionally, hold the unadulterated gospel, we shall not stop to inquire. But it is important to observe, that the distinction thus put forward is altogether unscriptural and ungodly.

The doctrine, or teaching, of the Apostles (in the scriptural import of the word) includes all that they declare, both of the work of the Lord Jesus and of his will. See Matt. xxviii. 20. and 1 Tim. vi. 3, 4. And part of what they teach is, that he who even bids God speed to the man that brings any other doctrine, or teaching, than theirs, is "a partaker of his evil deeds." 2 John i. 10, 11. The use you make of the Apostle's words, in Phil. iii. 15. is a melancholy evidence how deeply you are imbibing the spirit of the popular gospels; which have each their private revelations, distinct from the revealed mind of God. We earnestly call on you to consider, whether it be any thing short of profane to represent the Apostle as there telling the Philippian disciples-" If any of you be at present living in disobedience of the commands which I have given you in the name of the Lord, God will bring you to a perception of your sin (if it is to be called sin) before you die." Without entering at all upon the real meaning of the passage, which (though pretty evident) a Christian may have to own he does not see-we confidently say, that any one standing in the fear of the Lord must reject with abhorrence such an interpretation, as soon as his attention is called to its ungodliness. It is, however, well matched with the sentiment, that continued disobedience to all the precepts peculiarly Christian, is consistent with the continuance of Christian fellowship, We conclude this our admonition, commending it to the blessing of Him who alone can make it effectual for your recovery. We hope to be favoured with a communication from you without any unnecessary delay.

Signed in the name, and by desire of, the church in Dublin.

XXIII.

FROM THE CHURCH IN D

TO THE SAME.

-1813.

We are sorry to observe that your speedy answer to our letter appears to have been written without the least consideration of what we offered, or any sober attention to the admonition we conveyed. We wish once more to observe the weakness of your arguments and the ungodly nature of your sentiments. You commence with stating most truly "that all believers should be united together outwardly." But when we agree with you in saying that they SHOULD, we mean that the word of God commands it, and that they who hold the expediency or lawfulness of their not being so, maintain a doctrine contrary to the apostolic rule, and are persons with whom we can have no fellowship without being partakers of their evil deeds: you professing in words the same principle, infer from it the lawfulness of leaguing yourself with those who deny and disobey it. Holding the principle with any scriptural consistency, you should reject as heretics (or sect-makers, causing divisions and offences) all who are not outwardly united with those whom you have joined, according to that passage in Rom. xvi. 17. to which you justly refer, as marking a character of men whom Christians are to put away from among them. But, in fact, by the outward union of believers you seem to mean little more than all good people acknowledging each other in that character, by making light of their differences and occasionally worshipping together. The outward union of believers that we are taught from scripture to regard as of divine authority, the work of God, is their united profession of the one truth, and united subjection to the revealed authority of their one Lord. You, and those whom you have joined, are awfully united in representing all the peculiar precepts of Christ as what believers may continue to disobey, without any impeachment of their Christian profession; and where you vindicate this by the question "where is the person that sinneth not?" you really hold a language more like that of the professing world, than what might be expected from a disciple. We urged various scriptural arguments upon your attention, not one of which receives the least notice. But what do you put forward? whyan assurance that you have been solely influenced by the word of God-a testimony in favour of those with whom you are at present connected, as "having all heard the voice of Christ calling them," &c. as "seeking with a single eye to know his will," &c.—as "desiring to do all things to his glory "--and a declaration that, "after much earnest and humble searching of the scriptures, you find no warrant for rejecting those who profess the faith of Jesus, though they may interpret some passages of scripture in a different manner from what you do." Alas! what a paraphrase is this, for those who live in disobedience to the revealed will of Christ, and who refuse to hear his